Whyalla veteran outraged over ‘safety’ change to Dawn Service schedule

An Afghanistan War veteran is among those outraged over the move to change the time of his local Anzac Day Dawn Service.

An Army veteran is among residents of an Eyre Peninsula town who have been left outraged after the time of their Anzac Day service was moved back until after dawn.

Whyalla RSL made the announcement on social media on Monday that their service would be shifted from its normal time of 6.30am to 15 minutes later “for safety reasons”.

But an Afghanistan War veteran from the town, who wanted to remain unnamed, said the move was “completely ridiculous”.

“It defeats the purpose to have it 20 minutes after the sun is up,” the veteran in his 30s said.

“It’s just sad really because we’ve got years and years of tradition and now it’s been changed.”

On April 25, dawn will be at about 6.20am in Whyalla.

The veteran recalled observing the Dawn Service in Afghanistan and said it is “an extremely hard time” for him.

“I lost mates in Afghanistan and it’s a real time of reflection for myself,” he said.

“It’s a real connection with the past and it’s the thought of guys who have made the ultimate sacrifice.”

He branded the change “an easy, lazy cop out”.

Despite opposing the change, the veteran said he would attend the event, which can see a crowd of up to 200 people.
Another Whyalla resident, Raegan Harvey, said the time change would be “disappointing for a lot of people”.

“A Dawn Service is a Dawn Service and it should be untouchable,” Ms Harvey, 31, said.

“I’m a bit gobsmacked Whyalla aren’t having an actual Dawn Service.

“We’re the new generation that’s meant to carry this (tradition) on.”

But president of RSL SA Dave Petersen defended the move and said the decision was made after “two or three years ago” a veteran tripped over a kerb and injured himself due to lack of light.

“We could continue at 6am or 6.30am and people fall over and people would complain we’re not running a safe event,” Mr Petersen said.

It is understood the decision to change the time of the event was made in the months leading up to Anzac Day by the RSL’s committee.

“I fully support them in what they’ve done so they (veterans) can attend in a safe manner,” Mr Petersen said.

“It costs money to run these events and what option do we have when we want veterans to attend safely?

“In country regions we don’t have the infrastructure to do these things (additional lighting).”

However, Mr Petersen added that in instances where the local RSL branch could not afford lighting, the council should step in with funding.

Mr Petersen said people could reflect on their own at dawn.

“I will be at the War Memorial (in the CBD) at 5am to have silent commemoration and I encourage people to do that,” he said.

“I wish the conversation was about how we care for veterans instead.”

Whyalla Council was contacted for comment.